When the garden area occupies a large part of the garden plot, it is very difficult to spud potatoes by hand. For such cases, there is a technology of hilling potatoes with a walk-behind tractor. When hilling potatoes with a cultivator, time is saved and the process itself is much easier. Loosening the soil at the time of cultivation is of considerable agrotechnical significance during the period of growth of this plant. At the time of disking the surface layer of the soil, it becomes like air, increasing in volume, thereby creating conditions for the growth of shoots and tubers.
Advantages and disadvantages
Due to hilling, these plants are protected from disease and temperature changes, as well as the removal of weeds.
When processing a cultivator, you can still highlight such advantages:
- Minimum effort.
- High productivity in comparison with manual hilling.
- The creation of deep furrows and collapsing stems, which has a positive effect on the harvest.
- Optimum aeration of the soil with an excess of moisture due to the creation of loose structure.
- Maintain the required temperature in the ground.
Among the shortcomings, it is possible to single out only the fact that you need to spend money on any walk-behind tractor, unlike a simple chopper.
You can find out more about why hilling potatoes are needed and why the potato yield significantly increases after it, you can find out here.
When is the procedure needed?
The first time you need to spud potatoes when the growth of stems 5 cm. It is advisable to do this in the evening or early in the morning on wet ground.
Tips for choosing
When choosing a unit for work on a land plot, in particular for hilling, one must take into account several factors:
The density of earth on the surface. If there is a soil with loam, there are many lumps in it, then you need to choose your choice on a heavier aggregate.- Length of potato ridges. The less turns you have to do when hilling, the easier it is to steer the walk-behind tractor.
- Land area. If the ridge for potatoes is small, about 2-3 acres, then, of course, there is no need to spend money on an expensive cultivator.
The density of earth on the surface. If there is a soil with loam, there are many lumps in it, then you need to choose your choice on a heavier aggregate.And vice versa, in case of a large garden plot, in order to avoid overheating of the device, it is preferable to buy a powerful one, over 5 liters. s.- unit.
There are several types of tools for hilling. Learn more about how to choose a tool for hilling, you can find here.
Will the "Neva"?
Among gardeners and gardeners, Neva cultivators are very popular.. With their help, you can handle different soils with high productivity and at a qualitative level. This is evidenced by the technical characteristics of the tiller, as well as user reviews. The units are equipped with reliable imported Subaru, Honda or Briggs engines with high efficiency and increased resource.
Simple controls make it easy to switch speeds, depending on the job you want. There is a motoblock and reverse gear, which greatly facilitates the work with him. The weight of the unit is about 90 kg, which is especially valuable when working on heavy soils. There is a convenient steering, which is adjustable depending on the needs of the owner.
Suppose that you bought the device from this manufacturer. We will tell further how to pile up potatoes with the help of the Neva device or any other motoblock.
Apparatus preparation
Any unit, including the cultivator, needs proper care.. In the spring, before the start of the land works, the motoblock should be carefully inspected, with particular attention paid to the wear of the devices: plow, hiller, removable mills.
Be sure to remove the grease for conservation, if it was applied in the fall on the piston group. Check for oil and replace if necessary, add petrol.
Carry out a trial test of the engine, for which it is necessary to close the air damper, set the highest number of revolutions and start the engine. Let it work for some time, thereby warming it up and after that you can start working the land.
Nuances
Before overwhelming potatoes, you need to understand how to do it correctly. It is necessary to foresee the method of raising the crests while planting potatoes, since the distance between rows 60-70 cm is necessary for advancing and high-quality work of the unit. It is necessary to take into account the size between the wheels with the addition of 5 cm on each side.
Different methods of work
Hilling of the tillers of your potatoes can be done with several hitch devices - hillers. Let us consider in more detail each type and configuration of these models.
We use two devices
The unit has wheels with lugs and two adjustable hillers on the cross member. They need to be set up in such a way that with the least effort the double-sided ploughshare will dump the ground onto the potato bushes. This is done by offsetting the plunge depth by the rack and changing the inclination of the device surface. Then hillers are installed between the rows, and the processing of plants begins.
Completely overcoming the length of the ridge, the aggregate unfolds, shifts by two rows, and the process repeats, lifting the crests of the earth. When earthing up, rippers are usually installed in front. Rear wheels are installed on the motoblock - hillers, which fall asleep bushes.
The use of single-row device
When cultivating the land with one-sided plowshare, you will also need wheels with lugs, which must pass through pre-aged rows.
Hiller is adjusted on the rack in such a way that the blade of the ground covers at least half of the plant stems at their height of about 30 cm.
Disk variety
Such disc attachments, when hilling potatoes, are additionally crushed and make airy soil. True, the flooding of the ground with such a device will be slower, since it will be able to process only one row from the passage, but it is assumed that the soil will be better loosened.
Setting the drive tiller:
- It is necessary to drive the wheels at a distance between the rows.
- Then the blade angle is determined by trial and after that they are set symmetrically to each other.
This is done so that the walker does not lead to the side.
More details on how to spud potatoes in various ways can be found here.
Conclusion
The choice of hilling method directly depends on the characteristic features of the soil on potato ridges, but, in any case, the processing of plants must comply with the requirements of agricultural engineering. Motoblock with accessories for hilling gives excellent tillage. Moreover, such a collapse of plants protects them from diseases, stimulates growth and contributes to obtaining a good collection of vegetables.
